fix(hermes): use the shared environment check in the provider diagnostic

[tonythomson]

Closes #709.

Rebased onto main after #751 landed, and reduced to what that PR did not cover.

What is left of #709

#751 fixed the two status call sites by introducing _hermes_python_mismatch(), which compares environment roots rather than resolved interpreter paths. The third site reported in #709, the provider's failure diagnostic in register_memory_provider(), was not part of that change and still read:

if _hp and _hp.resolve() != Path(_sys.executable).resolve():

A venv's bin/python is a symlink to the interpreter it was created from, so resolving collapses two distinct environments onto that one binary and skips the diagnostic in exactly the case it exists to report. On macOS it also rewrites /tmp to /private/tmp, so one environment can fail to match itself across spellings.

That site now calls _hermes_python_mismatch(), so the provider diagnostic and status answer the question the same way instead of drifting apart again.

Hardening the shared helper

Deriving the environment root with .parent.parent before normalising means a path spelled <venv>/bin/../bin/python yields <venv>/bin/.., which names <venv> but does not compare equal to it, so one environment is reported as two. Both sides are now passed through os.path.normpath first. The normalisation is lexical and does not follow symlinks, so venv identity is preserved; following the symlink is the original defect.

Reachable through a VIRTUAL_ENV containing ... Narrow, but it is the same defect class as #709 and the helper now governs three call sites.

Remediation quoting

The provider diagnostic prints a FIX: Run: command containing the interpreter path. #751 shell-quoted the equivalent status line; this one was still raw, so a Hermes venv under a path with spaces produced an unrunnable command. Now quoted with shlex.quote, matching status. Raised by CodeRabbit.

The uv pip install --python {hermes_python} hints in run_install have the same problem and are deliberately left alone here, since #752 covers those.

Verification

Both new tests were confirmed red with the source change stashed:

• test_provider_diagnostic_reports_two_venvs_over_one_base fails without the fix. It patches sys.executable as well as sys.prefix, both to the other venv. Without that, the superseded check compares against the real test interpreter and prints for an unrelated reason, and the test passes against the buggy code.
• test_hermes_python_mismatch_normalises_a_detour_spelling fails without the normpath change.
• test_provider_diagnostic_stays_quiet_for_one_environment passes either way and is labelled in its docstring as a guard rather than evidence.

403 tests in integrations/hermes/tests/ pass, and both lint gates are clean.

Summary

• Fixes Hermes interpreter mismatch diagnostics by using _hermes_python_mismatch().
• Preserves distinct virtual environments that share a base interpreter.
• Normalizes equivalent path spellings without resolving symlinks.
• Shell-quotes remediation commands for paths that contain spaces.
• Adds regression tests for normalized paths, distinct environments, and matching environments.

Architectural impact

• No changes to tiered memory, retrieval, consolidation, veracity, sync, or benchmark systems.
• No changes to Mnemosyne’s core memory architecture or privacy posture.
• Improves the Hermes integration surface. MCP and CLI behavior remain unchanged.
• Preserves local-first behavior. The change performs local path comparison and adds no external data flow.
• Improves maintainability through shared mismatch logic and focused regression coverage.

This is the right call for Hermes environment detection. It preserves virtual-environment identity while accepting equivalent path spellings. Nothing in this change erodes the local-first design.

[coderabbitai]

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

Hermes now compares lexically normalized interpreter paths without resolving symlinks. Provider diagnostics use the shared comparison helper and shell-quote the remediation path. Tests cover equivalent paths, distinct virtual environments, and matching environments.

Changes

Hermes interpreter identity

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Interpreter identity helper and regression coverage integrations/hermes/src/mnemosyne_hermes/install.py, integrations/hermes/tests/test_install_status.py	_hermes_python_mismatch compares normalized environment paths without resolving symlinks. Tests cover distinct environments, shared base interpreters, equivalent path spellings, and matching environments.
Diagnostic and remediation integration integrations/hermes/src/mnemosyne_hermes/__init__.py, integrations/hermes/tests/test_install_status.py, CHANGELOG.md	register_memory_provider uses _hermes_python_mismatch and shell-quotes the Hermes Python path. Tests validate the diagnostics, and the changelog documents the behavior.

Estimated code review effort: 2 (Simple) | ~10 minutes

Merge Risk: ⚪ Minimal · up to 4bbaf

This PR makes provider environment diagnostics consistent and ensures remediation commands work for paths containing spaces; no actionable merge-blocking risk remains beyond normal checks.

Possibly related PRs

• mnemosyne-oss/mnemosyne#623: This PR extends the interpreter path handling introduced by PR #623.
• mnemosyne-oss/mnemosyne#620: Both PRs address Hermes interpreter discovery and mismatch handling.
• mnemosyne-oss/mnemosyne#630: Both PRs modify Hermes interpreter compatibility checks.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly identifies the Hermes provider diagnostic fix and its use of the shared environment check.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	The changes address issue #709 by preserving distinct virtual environments and applying the shared mismatch check to provider diagnostics.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	The changelog entry, path normalization, shell quoting, and regression tests directly support the linked issue objectives.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.

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[dplush]

reviewed and merge-ready

[coderabbitai]

Actionable comments posted: 1

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Inline comments:
In `@integrations/hermes/src/mnemosyne_hermes/__init__.py`:
- Around line 3269-3273: Quote the Hermes interpreter path in the provider
remediation command using shlex.quote(str(_hp)) so paths containing spaces
execute correctly; update the test around _find_hermes_python to create the
virtual environment under a space-containing path and assert the quoted command.
Apply changes in integrations/hermes/src/mnemosyne_hermes/__init__.py lines
3269-3273 and integrations/hermes/tests/test_install_status.py lines 622-659.

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📒 Files selected for processing (4)

• CHANGELOG.md
• integrations/hermes/src/mnemosyne_hermes/__init__.py
• integrations/hermes/src/mnemosyne_hermes/install.py
• integrations/hermes/tests/test_install_status.py

[dplush]

Reviewed current head 4bbaf8c. The shared lexical environment check fixes the resolved-symlink diagnostic gap without losing venv identity; the provider path now reuses it and quotes the remediation command. Focused integration tests pass. LGTM.